Twitter tunes in with new #music app

Twitter has unveiled an app designed to change the way people discover music.

The social networking site said #music would suggest tracks based on who a user follows and bring the most popular songs and emerging artists to the fore.

Music can be played through the app itself or on services such as Rdio, Spotify, and iTunes.

Users can also tweet songs directly from the app.

The launch follows intense speculation over Twitter’s next move which comes after Facebook introduced a music feature that allows people to listen to songs with their friends. A handful of artists have already trialled the service, which was rolled out yesterday.

Singer-songwriter Moby described the app as a “really interesting music resource” while musician Jason Mraz tweeted: “Thanks to my friends @TwitterMusic for sharing your new app and connecting us thru music. Congrats!”

The app is available from Apple’s App Store and is expected to be made available for Android devices “soon”.

In a blog post, Twitter’s Stephen Philips said: “Today, we’re releasing Twitter #music, a new service that will change the way people find music, based on Twitter.”

The #music app is available for download in the UK, US, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. The social networking site plans to bring the service to more countries “over time”.